BOOK INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENTAL TRENDS 2016

PAPER MANUFACTURER RESPONSES
In total 9 manufacturers of book paper participated in the survey with the largest number reporting book
paper revenues of $100 to $250 Million. One participant had book paper revenues in excess of $500 million
while the remainder had book paper revenues of $50 million or less as indicated in the chart below.
WHAT WAS YOUR COMPANY’S ANNUAL REVENUE FROM BOOK PAPERS IN 2014?
3
NUMBER OF RESPONSES
1 1
0
2 2
ANNUAL BOOK PAPER REVENUES
Based on 9 responses.
As with previous years paper manufacturers were asked for specific numbers regarding the tonnage of
book paper produced, the percentage of recycled fiber used in those papers, and the amount of paper that
is certified to different third party standards. Because paper manufacturers do not usually know what the
end use will ultimately be for the paper they produce, as in previous years, the surveys for paper manufacturers
requested that they report on “grades suitable to be used in consumer book manufacturing.” In total
participating manufacturers accounted for 710,570 of “book paper” as defined previously 1* . This represents
approximately 79% of the 900,000 tons of book paper used by the U.S. book industry in 2014 according to
RISI estimates.
Virgin tree fiber accounted for 88% of fiber reported by paper manufacturers with total recycled content
(preconsumer plus postconsumer) accounting for the remaining 12%. None of the participating manufacturers
reported using agricultural or alternative fiber to manufacture book papers in 2014.
In total, 48% of the book paper reported by participating manufacturers was third party certified with
28% certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. The weighted average for various types of third party certification
are detailed in the table on the next page.
1 *
Tonnage from one participating paper manufacturer was excluded because the data appeared anomalous and efforts to get additional clarifying information from the
manufacturer were unsuccessful.